Family Board Meeting… starting a new monthly mechanic to make us happier.

Last night our family kicked off a new format, borrowing from my work… a Stroh Family Board Meeting.

It’s something that I have been reflecting on recently, just how much thoughtfulness and planning (albeit never perfect) at Bills.com/ Freedom Financial Network/ byUs.com/ ScoreStreak/ BetBoost/ ApartmentLits.com/ Goldine/ ECC and all of the businesses that I am on the Board of, or an advisor to; but how little planning and conscious thoughtfulness goes into the most important group in my own life – our family.

So… we went out on a bit of a limb and tried to take some of the best mechanics that have worked at work and in the boardroom, and tried it with our family. It went amazingly well, and I am really proud to include our kids in our decision making process and to show them their parents being open, vulnerable and honest. It also reminds me to always make conscious decisions about the life I want to live… or I lose control over my own life.

Here’s the ‘agenda’ below if you want to give a go with your family. Send me thoughts and enjoy!

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Stroh Family Board Meeting Agenda –

Goal: Ensure that we are living conscious lives, where we know the impact of our actions, where we own our paths through life and take responsibility for our own happiness.

Starting Exercises:

What went right or was amazing for me in the last month? ____________________________________

Everyone takes turns:

“I like, I wish, I wonder”

I like _________________

I wish ________________

I wonder _______________

“Happy, worried, frustrated”

I am happy about _________________

I am worried about ________________

I am frustrated about _______________

Reflection and Planning:

How we spend our free-time:

The things that I spent my free-time on in the last month are:

{are these things we are proud to be a part of, that we are developing with and that make us and/or the world better?}

Who am I spending my free-time with:

{are these people that we are proud to associate with, that make us and/or the world better?}

What did I do to make the world a better place: __________________________

My Goals:

My top 3 goals for the next month are to:

1.

2.

3.

{how did I do on my goals for the last month}

You Give Me 3 Goals:

Everyone in the family gives to me a goal to work on over the next month:

1. ______________

2. ______________

3. _______________

{how did I do on my goals for the last month}

Am I happy, and if not, what can I change to make myself happier: ____________________

Optional:

Share a:

Poem

Picture

Book you read

Painting

Thought or observation

Something from nature

Monthly optional topics:

Science report about something we are interested in

Define our family values (from the Fox family!)

Assess our family’s impact on our environment

Find a service-learning topic that we want to get involved in supporting, to help less blessed people or things on the planet

I have to tell you that reading this, and seeing how you put so much effort, energy and thoughtfulness into raising your kids provokes two reactions. First is that it inspires me to do more with my family; I need to improve. Second is that it makes me real proud to call you my best friend.

Yup, great stuff and inspires us to take the next step with our family communication. We also do nightly highlights and lowlights and each of us takes turns with each at or after dinner. These are fun and always kick off some good conversations about the day. (Note when on vacation , you’re allowed to trade in your lowlight for multiple highlights!). We’re going to give a version of this a whirl Stroh’s… thank you for sharing.

Brad, I am a VP with Primerica & I now know why our management team talks so fondly of you, Andrew & the rest of your team at Freedom! I want to tell you that sharing this has inspired me to be a better husband & father. Something I always want to strive to get better at. Thanks!